Bermuda Regiment staff are being trained to deal with gang-related issues, the army's commanding officer has revealed.

Lieutenant Colonel Brian Gonsalves told The Royal Gazette that Warwick Camp was not immune from the youth violence affecting the Island and that he had already taken measures to tackle the problem in the military.

The CO's disclosure came in response to questions about a young soldier who told this newspaper he was refusing to complete his military service after being bullied and assaulted at Warwick Camp.

The 26-year-old, from Somerset, began his conscription four years ago and says he was immediately targeted by recruits from Southampton because he was from a different part of the Island.

The private — who insists he is not in a gang — said soldiers he knew to be part of a so-called Southampton "crew" first tackled him in the showers, before confronting him in the cafeteria.

He said they knocked away crutches he was using due to a knee injury, causing him to fall to the ground, before kicking him.

"Higher ups in the army were there, seeing what happened," he alleged. "But there wasn't anybody that said: 'You need to stop'. One of the RPs [Regiment Police] came to my aid."

The self-employed handyman, who asked not to be named, said the bullying continued and he was attacked when not in uniform at Horseshoe Beach, ending up in hospital with concussion. Police questioned him but he could remember nothing and his assailants were never caught.

He returned to Warwick Camp, but there were further episodes of taunting and pushing and he was taken home by superiors several times, according to his mother.

The 50-year-old woman said: "It was more than once, more than twice. He [my son] did say some of the guys were coming to attack him from down in that area and some of the higher ups noticed it and grabbed him and brought him home."

The private did not return to the Regiment after the last incident around 2006 and heard nothing until last month when his name appeared on a published list of soldiers ordered to complete their conscription. "I feel up there I'm not safe," he said. "I'm not going back."

Anti-conscription group Bermudians Against the Draft (BAD) is supporting the young man. BAD campaigner Larry Marshall said: "He can avoid certain areas [in civilian life]. In the Regiment, he can't. He is going to their home territory.

"If you are constantly put into the cauldron, it's definitely a very unfair situation."

Lt. Col. Gonsalves told this newspaper: "I am, of course, aware that some of our younger generation are caught up in Bermuda's island-wide problem of gang-related activity.

"The Regiment is a reflection of Bermuda society as a whole and we are deeply concerned that any of our soldiers might find themselves on the wrong side of the law in their private lives.

"I have already begun a process whereby members of our full-time staff are receiving training on gang-related issues and I would encourage any person or organisation to find productive ways of dealing with this problem."

The CO added: "I can guarantee that gang activity is not tolerated inside Warwick Camp."

He said any soldier who felt unsafe at the Regiment or was threatened outside Warwick Camp after dismissal due to gang issues was obliged to report it to his chain of command.

"If we can assist with recommending counselling or support services already put in place by the Government, we will do so.

"We cannot assist them if they choose not to inform us or to take matters into their own hands by disregarding the remainder of their obligatory service.

"We are here to help the community — sometimes that means helping each other. If Bermuda continues to acquiesce to gang-related activity or violence, rather than demonstrate it has no place anywhere in our society, then we, as a whole, shall continue to lose the battle to save our younger generations."

Acting Governor David Arkley said last night: "Additional training to allow members of the Regiment to deal with issues such as bullying demonstrate that the CO and the Regiment take these matters seriously.

"It also shows that they are willing and able to act on such issues when they are reported in the proper manner. The CO has the full support of Government House in this regard — and more broadly."